世界上最古老的森林在紐約北部出土的證據(jù)

世界上最古老的森林在紐約北部出土的證據(jù)

Scientists have unearthed evidence in New York of the world’s oldest forest, dating back nearly 400 million years.

科學(xué)家在紐約發(fā)現(xiàn)了世界上最古老的森林的證據(jù)，可以追溯到近4億年前。

The fossilized forest, which is 386 million years old, was discovered in a quarry in the upstate town of Cairo, around 33 miles south of Albany, according to a new study.

根據(jù)一項新的研究，這片化石森林有3.86億年的歷史，是在奧爾巴尼以南33英里的開羅北部城鎮(zhèn)的一個采石場發(fā)現(xiàn)的。

The discovery was reported in the latest issue of Current Biology and is believed to be 3 million years older than the previous world record holder, which is located around 25 miles away in Gilboa.

這一發(fā)現(xiàn)發(fā)表在最新一期的《當(dāng)代生物學(xué)》雜志上，據(jù)信比此前的世界紀(jì)錄保持者還要老300萬年。

Researchers said the recent findings provide new insight into the evolution of forests, indicating that the Earth’s transition to them began 10 million years before trees started growing from seeds.

研究人員稱，最近的發(fā)現(xiàn)為森林的進(jìn)化提供了新的視角，表明地球向森林的轉(zhuǎn)變早在樹木從種子開始生長的1000萬年前就開始了。

“We are really getting a handle on the transition of the Earth to a forested planet,” said study co-author Dr. Chris Berry of Cardiff University in the UK.

研究報告的撰寫者之一、英國加的夫大學(xué)的克里斯·貝里博士說:“我們確實(shí)掌握了地球向森林星球轉(zhuǎn)變的過程。”

Researchers believe the forest was home to a wide-ranging network of trees that reproduced using spores, rather than seeds, as well as a rich array of vegetation that was eventually wiped out by a flood.

研究人員認(rèn)為，這片森林是一個廣泛的樹木網(wǎng)絡(luò)的家園，這些樹木利用孢子而不是種子繁殖，以及豐富的植被，但最終被洪水沖毀。